Hunt the Front Back for
Hall of Fame Classic this Saturday!
(August
17, 2026) The Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series will be
back at Smoky Mountain Speedway on August 22 for the Hall of Fame
Classic for $12,000 to win. It will also be the annual Hall of
Fame Night.
Ashton Winger sits atop the series standings heading into this
weekend’s racing. Dalton Cook, Joseph Joiner, Jadon Frame,
and Jake O’Neill round out the top 5. Other series regulars
include Dillard Hatchett, Mario Gresham, Austin Smith, Josh Putnam,
Jason Lively, and Beckham Malone. Other expected drivers include
Dale McDowell, Jimmy Owens, Mike Marlar, Chris Madden, Kyle Bronson,
Heath Hindman, Donald McIntosh, and more.
Also racing will be street stocks for $700 to win and front wheel
drives for $500 to win. During intermission, kids’ juice
box races for kids 3-5 and 6-8 will take place along with kids’
bicycle races. The driver’s meeting will take place at 6:30
followed by hot laps at 7:00.
The annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during
intermission. Kenny Arp, John Henry, and Bill “Buck”
Bunch will be inducted into the Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of
Fame. Mark Vineyard, David Wagner, Marty Calloway, and Keith Longmire
will be inducted into the East Tennessee Racing Hall of Fame.
Grandstand Adults: $35.00
All Kids 11 and Under: $5.00
Grandstand Adults Reserved: $40.00
Grandstand Kids Reserved: $10.00
Pit (& Tier) Adults: $45.00
Pit (& Tier) Adults Reserved: $50.00
Pit Kids Reserved: $10.00
Kikelhan
and Hedgecock Roll to Wins at Smoky Mountain!
(August
15, 2026) The American Big Rig Series returned to Smoky
Mountain Speedway for another night of the big rigs on the dirt.
A lot of carnage put a damper on the end results. Heat race action
started the night of big crashes with the truckers. Brant Arnold
set fast time and started the first heat on the pole. Austin Hoppe
took the lead over Arnold coming out of turn 2. Hoppe’s
truck got out of shape coming off turn 2. Hoppe tried to correct
it but the truck tipped over did a barrel roll down the back straightaway.
Hoppe won the heat when racing resumed. Arnold did not suffer
any major injuries. (MRM Racing Photo)
Hoppe and Mike Morgan started the feature on the front row. Hoppe
quickly took the lead with Morgan in close pursuit. After a couple
of early cautions, Morgan was able to take the lead. A few laps
later, another caution resulted in another restart that saw Hoppe
get the better of Morgan. Morgan and Hoppe made contact in turn
1 that caused Morgan to crash hard into the outside wall. Hoppe
was charged with the caution and was sent to the rear of the field.
Chris Kikelhan took over the lead with a gaggle of trucks jockeying
for position in the closing laps. Hoppe made his way to third
and tried to get under Tanner Anderson on lap 17 for second. Hoppe
clipped the rear tires of Anderson that sent his truck end over
end and rolling over the outside wall. Anderson was uninjured.
Due to time considerations and the severity of the crash, the
race was halted and Kikelhan awarded the win.
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full story
Blake Brown
Makes Last Lap Pass for Open Wheel Win
(July
18, 2026) Blake Brown passed Colton Proffitt on the final
lap to win Saturday’s Cumberland Plateau Open Wheel Modified
Series race. (MRM Racing Photo)
Proffitt took the lead at the drop of the green. Brown remained
close behind throughout the entire 30-lap race. Brown pressured
Proffitt with two laps to go. On the final lap, Brown jumped to
the outside of Proffitt going into turn 3. Brown used the momentum
to complete the pass and edge Proffitt at the line.
Michael Courtney made it look easy in the Cumerland Plateau Mod
Mini series. Courtney led the whole race and saw minimal pressure
from Derik Duggan late in the race.
Jesse Lowe held off a hard charging Jed Emert to win the sportsman
late model feature. Lowe got the lead over Cameron Hawkins at
the start. Hawkins was overtaken by Chandler Hickman for second.
Later in the race, Hickman made contact with a slower car that
resulted the radiator cap coming off. As Hickman slowed to get
to the inside to pit, David Singleton made contact with Hickman
knocking both out of the race. Emert pressured Lowe in the closing
laps and Lowe edged Emert at the line to get the win.
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McDowell
Scores Popular Victory at Smoky Mountain Speedway
(June
20, 2026) Dale McDowell led all 60 laps of the Mountain
Moonshine Classic on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway,
earning a popular hometown victory and collecting $30,000 for
his 11th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The victory was McDowell’s first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series triumph triumph since winning the Topless 100 in 2023 and
his first Series victory at Smoky Mountain Speedway since 2016.
Devin Moran charged from seventh to finish second after passing
Friday night winner Brandon Sheppard on lap 45. Moran closed the
gap in the closing laps but crossed the finish line 1.113 seconds
behind McDowell. Sheppard rounded out the Big River Steel podium
in third after finishing second for the first 44 laps of the race.
Jake O’Neil recorded the best Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt
Series finish of his career with a fourth-place effort after running
inside the top five throughout the event. Chris Madden completed
the top five. |
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Sheppard
Sweeps Opening Night of Mountain Moonshine Classic
(June
19, 2026) Brandon Sheppard completed a clean sweep Friday
night at Smoky Mountain Speedway, leading all 40 laps of the opening
night of the Mountain Moonshine Classic to earn his fourth Lucas
Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The New Berlin, Illinois driver earned $10,000 for the victory
after setting overall fast time, winning his heat race, and capping
off a perfect evening in Wieland Victory Lane. The win marked
the 40th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of Sheppard’s
career.
Sheppard crossed the finish line 1.342 seconds ahead of Dale
McDowell, who finished second. Garrett Alberson rounded out the
Big River Steel podium in third. Chris Madden and Sam Seawright
completed the top five. |
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Henry,
Arp, & Bunch are 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees
(June
3, 2026) The Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of Fame has
announced the class of 2026. This year, the SMS Hall of Fame was
separated into its own entity to acknowledge those that were successful
primarily at Smoky Mountain Speedway. The current hall of fame
has been renamed to the East Tennessee Racing Hall of Fame and
will have their own inductees. This year’s class for the
Smoky Mountain Speedway Hall of Fame is John Henry, Kenny Arp,
and Bill Bunch.
John Henry put on a show on and off the race track in the Modified
4 Cylinder class. Henry did not mind mixing things up with drivers
on the track and with track officials off the track. Kenny Arp
was another successful driver from the Modified 4 Cylinder ranks.
Arp won numerous races and track championship, most of them at
Smoky Mountain. Bill Bunch was a successful engine builder that
built engines from late models to four cylinders. His engines
were responsible for countless wins and track championships. Bunch
also served a track tech director.
These three will be inducted on Saturday, August 22 during intermission
of the of the Hunt The Front Hall of Fame Classic. Each inductee
or their family will receive a letter and additional information
about the ceremony.
Skip Arp
Dominant in Saturday Night Shootout Win
(May
2, 2026) Skip Arp dominated round #2 of the Saturday
Night Shootout in a night full of crazy action. Arp won the pole
for the 25-lap feature. Arp zipped to the lead, but that was wiped
out when a crash in turn 4 on the first lap reset the field. Bobby
Giffin and Jed Emert made contact causing Giffin to land on his
top. With the track being blocked, Noah Phillips, Jason Manley,
and others were also involved. None of the drivers were injured.
When the race resumed, Arp once again took the lead over Eric
Orr. Orr spent most of the race battling Ryan King for second.
King finally took the spot. Later, Orr lost third to Jason Manley.
Manley tracked down King to overtake him for second. Meanwhile,
Arp cruised to victory.
In the sportsman feature, Jed Emert held off challenges from
Jesse Lowe in taking the win. Adam Mitchell rounded out the top
three. |
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Skip Arp
Returns to Racing with Smoky Mountain Victory!
(April
11, 2026) Skip Arp missed the entire 2025 race season
after serious work injury sidelined up. Arp made his return my
winning Saturday’s Mountain Late Models feature. Arp got
the best of pole sitter Bobby Giffin and set sail in a dominating
fashion. Giffin finished second and Cameron Weaver was third.
Ross White picked up his first ever win at Smoky Mountain Speedway
by winning the 604 Late Model feature. White had Hayden Cardwell
in two for the first half of the race but pulled away late. Jensen
Ford powered his way to finish third.
Cody Courtney was the winner of the sportsman late model feature.
Courtney battled Maddox Manley for the initial lead. Adam Mitchell
got by Manley for second. Manley and Chandler Hickman for several
laps before the two made contact coming off turn 2. Both cars
slid toward the infield knocking both cars out of the race. Mitchell
Childress finished third. |
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Bobby Pierce
in Right Place at Right Time for $20,000 Tipoff Win
(March
14, 2026) The old saying of being in the right place
at the right time paid off for Bobby Pierce in Saturday’s
World of Outlaws Tennessee Tipoff. (MRM Racing
Photo)
Pierce started on the outside of the front row alongside pole
sitter Chris Madden. It was Madden who grabbed the lead with Pierce
and Overton battling for second. Madden had firm control of the
race throughout much of the first half of the race. Overton ran
down Madden and used the outside line to get around Madden on
lap 37.
Overton looked to be in firm control until lap 48. Dennis Erb
Jr. made contact with another car and was sitting in the middle
of the track going into turn 3. Before the caution could be displayed,
Overton t-boned Erb in a violent crash. Madden also caught a piece
of Overton’s car and sent him spinning and out of the race.
Pierce inherited the lead and held off Nick Hoffman to win and
collect $20,000. Ricky Thornton was third. |
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